I Know What I Did Last Summer Pt. 3: Conclusion

Good day, everyone! I am back to finish up discussing my wonderful summer fellowship experience. It was so kind of them to give me money to support me over the summer; however, as I am sure most of you know, large amounts of money seldom come without strings. The string for this money was, as these things go, quite manageable and, once my part was over, pleasant. I had to go to the Customs House, which houses the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, and present my research to my fellow fellows, their faculty sponsors, the selection committee for the fellowship, the couple who sponsors the fellowship, and anyone else who decided to come and could fit into the small room.

Naturally, since this was a chance for me to speak publicly and prove that I am an intelligent person who spent my summer well, I began to feel nervous about a week in advance. The week of, I began to look over my notes, I made an outline of what I wanted to talk about, and I practiced giving my talk so that I would stay within the suggested time guideline. My roommate, who has a tendency to freak out much more than I usually do, was no doubt perplexed to see this other side of me. She also was kind enough to let me bounce ideas off of her one night as she was washing dishes.

Well, soon enough, Thursday rolled around and, since I only have one class on Thursdays and it is over by 10, I had nothing to do for the day except to worry about my presentation. I tweaked my outline, practiced my talk at least five times, and tried to keep myself calm as much as was possible. I got myself dressed up and walked downtown to the Customs House. I arrived early, successfully found the room we were presenting in, sank into a large squishy arm chair, and tried to look as though I belonged there. Shortly, Adam Goodheart, the head of the C. V. Starr Center, began, saying that we would go in alphabetical order and that he'd introduce us.

The girl before me talked about the educational system in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. It was certainly not something I knew a lot about, so I found it quite interesting. When she was done, and questions had been asked, it was my turn. I got up, walked to the front of the room without falling over, and began to talk. I even made them laugh a few times. Generally, it went well. I was also pleased that everyone asked really good questions. Other than Prof. Volansky asking me how on earth I came up with my topic (which was the role of women in the 1893 Columbian Exposition, for those who don't remember), my favorite question was from Dr. Black (who, as was mentioned in our earlier post Guest Stars, is the chair of our wonderful history department, and who I had only briefly met when he had to sign my major declaration form freshman year). He asked about the fact that it was an international exposition, were there any foreign women involved. Now, I'd specifically tried to keep my talk on the American side of things, since the research was supposed to be about an aspect of American history, but his question gave me the chance to talk about the things I'd learned about all of the foreign women, as well.

Once I was done, I was able to calmly sit and listen to the presentations of the last three students, which were all extremely interesting, as well. After that was dinner, and I found myself at a table with Dr. Black, Mrs. Collier (one of the donors for the Fellowship) and a few other adults from school. I am proud to say that I was able to keep my conversational end up with a group of adults. Generally speaking, socializing with people I do not know is not my strong suit, so I was glad that it went well. It was also nice to finally meet Dr. Black, since Gillian has always spoken so highly of him.

In the end, it was a wonderful evening. I managed to make myself sound intelligent, rather than like the raving lunatic my roommate must think I am sometimes, and I had a wonderful time. For all those WaC sophomores or juniors who are reading this, if you have any interest in some aspect of America's past, you should really apply for this fellowship next semester. It was a wonderful experience, which I am not about to forget any time soon. I am also, at the moment, working on a paper based on my research that I can submit to the Phi Alpha Theta conference this year.

Well, that finally wraps up my wonderful summer. I hope that you all enjoyed reading about it and, if you have any questions about the 1893 Exposition, do not hesitate to ask.

This is Brenna, signing off...